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Fwd: Crime rate up with cheap telephony in Uganda
by Mike Theuri 20 Mar '08

20 Mar '08

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Chifu <chifu2222(a)gmail.com> Date: Sun, Mar 16, 2008 at 2:01 AM Subject: [DigAfrica] Crime rate up with cheap telephony in Uganda To: DigAfrica(a)yahoogroups.com Crime rate up with cheap telephony Friday, 14th March, 2008 By Arthur Baguma IN Kampala it is easier to buy a mobile phone sim card than to buy chocolate. Sim cards are sold everywhere, even on streets and in taxi parks, and they cost as little as sh1,500, the price of a pineapple. On Thursday, a Saturday Vision reporter was able to buy sim cards from street vendors, alongside other vendors of items such socks, hankies, underwear and roasted coffee beans. The Police say this has led to an increase in phone-mediated crimes such as conning, threatening lives and insulting, which are committed using phones. "A person can buy a sim card just to abuse someone and after that they throw it away," says Simeo Nsubuga, Police spokesman for Kampala. In Kampala alone, Police records about 10 such cases every week, a sharp increase from 2-3 cases a week two years ago. But the majority are not reported. A makerere Uniiversity lecturer received a phone call from someone claiming to be his former student. The caller introduced a `juicy deal', namely an opportunity to sell machine bearings to a mzungu representative of a big oil company. He arranged a meeting between the mzungu and the lecturer, near Entebbe international airport. The mzungu came carrying a huge bag stuffed with cash bundles. He asked for samples of the bearings, which the lecturer brought and he endorsed. Meanwhile, in Kampala Industrial Area, someone was waiting to sell the bearings to the lecturer so he could sell it to the mzungu at 100% profit. But alas, after borrowing millions of shillings and buying the bearings, the lecturer returned to find both the mzungu and the broker gone and their phones switched off. Charity (not real name) almost walked out of her marital home over an anonymous text message. The message alleged that her husband of 10 years was involved in an extra marital affair. The sender signed off as a concerned friend. But when Charity tried to call the number of the `Good Samaritan', most times it was off and when it rang, she would not answer. The sender always claimed Charity's husband was with another woman, until one day, he made the same claim when Charity was with her husband at home. This is when Charity knew it was a hoax. This is just the tip of the iceberg. According to the Police, crimes committed using mobile phones have more than doubled in just two years. In Kampala alone, Police registers 10 such cases every week, yet a bigger number of incidents are not reported. This is an increase from 2-3 cases a week two years ago. These crimes include conning, threatening lives, insulting and blackmail. "A person can buy a SIM card just to abuse someone else and after that, they throw it away," says Simeo Nsubuga, Police spokesman for Kampala. Moreover, because they do not put the SIM card in their day-to-day phones, the Police find it hard to trace them. In some downtown areas, phones cost as little as sh20,000 and SIM cards cost a measly sh1,500. The conmen can, therefore, afford to throw away the phone with its SIM card to avoid being tracked. Worse still, SIM cards can be obtained just anywhere, even in taxi parks, without anyone keeping the buyer's details. This, says the Police, has been one of the main reasons for the increased phone-mediated crime. Many countries, including Germany, Switzerland and the US have legislation that requires pre-paid phone card users to register their identities when purchasing the SIM card. The law requires that telephone operators keep customer identity data and are required by law to make this data available under court order to authorised law enforcement and National Intelligence Center personnel in the respective countries. Phone Companies speak out Mobile phone companies claim that their subscribers are registered, but even under normal registration, the process has flaws which can be beaten. A subscriber is simply told to fill a form with their particulars. One is not asked to produce any identification to cross check the information they avail, after all, it is assumed that one is buying a personal belonging and would want a receipt in his or her genuine names. But Mark Kaheru, utl's public relation's officer, says even when customers are asked to register, some can use fictitious names. Kaheru says utl has received complaints from people with cases related to SIM card abuse. For example, some one getting a message that you have won a prize in a promotion. The message will proceed to indicate that if you are to redeem your prize, send air time to a certain number. "These are conmen men and we always put adverts in papers to warn the public over such cases," says Kaheru. Sheila Kangwagye the MTN Public relations officer says, all their SIM cards have registration forms including those sold on the streets by vendors. A SIM pack usually comes with a registration form. However, Saturday Vision was able to buy and activate a SIM card off the street without registration. Both utl and MTN receive complaints from subscribers who have been victims of phone-mediated crime such as threatening and black mail. But Kangwagye says they help only on court order. "We don't give out details for such queries to our sub-scribers. We only aid in police investigations if the case is of criminal nature." Police Advice The Police advises that any victim of a crime committed through a phone should report the case. Numbers that start with four and five after the first three digits are the most commonly used by con-men. The Police warns the public to be on the look out for anonymous calls and text messages from such numbers. In some cases the Police has foiled attempts to con people through mobile phones and arrested the culprits. According to Nsubuga, the conmen carry out thorough research about your personal life. Some one will call and accurately say things that are relevant to your life. They may mention names of your children or wife before duping you into the transactions. Government policy Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), the telecommunications regulatory body says there is no policy per se in respect to regulation and acquisition of SIM cards. UCC says that in countries where acquisition of SIM cards is regulated; it's facilitated by the National identity cards. However, Uganda has no national identity cards. "A national ID is the only reference number that is pegged to a person and all the transactions they operate can be traced through that reference number. It is easy to trace a person," Fred Otunnu, the UCC Corporate Boss says. He adds that in Uganda, the process of regulating SIM cards is hard because it is easy for someone to use multiple IDs in the absence of a national ID. He says Uganda requires a national ID as a starting point with a reference number attached to each person. David Bahati, MP Ndorwa West county in Kabale, calls for urgent legislation. "We have a whole lot of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) bills pending. The Government should come out as soon as possible and make into law the current body of bills on ICT regulations which have not yet been passed," he said. It turns out that in Uganda, the telecommunications sector has grown rapidly without proper legislation. Whereas it is clear that phone companies should have records of their subscribers, there appears to be no law compelling them to do so. In the meantime, phone-mediated crime continues to grow rapidly. http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/616655

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Postel Network Operator's Scholarship 2008
by alice wanjira 19 Mar '08

19 Mar '08

<http://www.nanog.org/postel-scholarship.html> <http://www.nanog.org/postel-scholarship.html> Overview NANOG and ARIN have been been unique and successful cooperative fora for Internet builders in North America and other parts of the world. Senior practitioners from around the world contribute their time to NANOG and ARIN as presenters, teachers and trainers, to produce consistent non-commercial conferences of high-quality. Since 2007, the generosity of an anonymous donor and the administration of the Internet Society, have allowed NANOG and ARIN to provide financial support to a person from a developing country to participate in the October joint NANOG/ARIN meeting. The Postel Network Operator's Scholarship Committee cordially invite suitable applicants to apply for fellowship funding to participate in the October 2008 joint NANOG/ARIN meeting. Target Audience The Postel Network Operator's Scholarship targets personnel from developing countries who are actively involved in Internet development, in any of the following roles: * Engineers (Network Builders) * Operational and Infrastructure Support Personnel * Educators, Teachers, and Trainers Award Package Successful applicants will be provided with transportation to and from the meetings and a reasonable (local host standard) allowance for food and accommodation. In addition all fees for participation in the conferences, tutorials, and social events will be waived. The final grant size is determined according to final costs and available funding, and will be advised to successful applicants. Criteria for Selection The Postel Network Operator's Scholarship Committee will select the fellow according to following criteria. * Membership in the Target Audience listed above * Residency in a developing country * Demonstrated ability to utilize the experiences gained from NANOG/ARIN within their country, region, ... * Evaluation of an abstract of a presentation to be given at the meeting. Applicants from any part of the world will be considered. Fellowship Selection Committee The Fellowship Section Committee is a joint activity of the Steering Committee of NANOG and the Board of Trustees of ARIN. Application for Fellowships The deadline for application is 1 June 2008, and the awardee will be informed by 1 July 2008. To apply for the fellowship please read <http://www.nanog.org/postel-scholarship.html> <http://www.nanog.org/postel-scholarship.html> and submit your application via email to <PostelNOS(a)nanog.org> <PostelNOS(a)nanog.org>. Please be sure to include an abstract, and even possibly some slides, from the presentation you would give at the meetings. Thank you. randy, for the Fellowship Section Committee

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SME-Symposium set for this weekend-Route map
by Jose' 19 Mar '08

19 Mar '08

Hi Florence, I hereby attach the directions to the symposium. Regards, Jose' Florence Etta <feanywhere(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote: Hi Jose, Can you please give us directions for the place. Cheers, FE Florence Etta PhD P.O. Box 14285,00800 Westlands-Nairobi, Kenya Tel: Mobile + 254-733-621851 Terrestrial: + 254-20-7121506 Fax/Phone: + 254-20-7125723 Alternative Email:[email protected] ----- Original Message ---- From: Jose' <ngunjirijnr(a)yahoo.com> To: feanywhere(a)yahoo.co.uk Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Tuesday, 18 March, 2008 12:12:13 PM Subject: [kictanet] SME-Symposium set for this weekend Greetings all, just a quick reminder to those who are planning to come to the entrepreneurship symposium set for this Saturday 22,March 2008. Venue: Kenya assemblies of God-Bahati Estate Time:from 0800hrs to 1700hrs. Charges:150ksh-(Drinks included) Kentel,I am counting on you!! I see representatives from Ugabytes, Telecentre.org,Google(Brian and Joe),ICT Board,Ministry of Youth and Ministry of Communication,CFSK the list is endless........ Come see how youth are being exposed to loan granters and business consultants. regards, Jose' 0728878744 --------------------------------- Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage. --------------------------------- Rise to the challenge for Sport Relief with Yahoo! for Good Best Regards, Jose' Njuki-Imwe Ngunjiri || +254 722 336754 || --------------------------------- Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.

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TEAMs to switch into Private Hands
by John Walubengo 19 Mar '08

19 Mar '08

The current issue of The EastAfrican claims that the government submarine fiber project is to be transferred to the initial co-financiers : Safaricom, KDN, Jamii, amongst others. Will the eventual majority shareholders - essentially the private sector - operate the cable on Open Access principles? Specifically, the following questions arise. 1. Will the cable be open for direct connectivity (at the source in MSA) to other future telco players? 2. Will the price of connecting to the international fiber be driven by profit-motives or will it be based on the 'cost-of-operating-the-fiber' basis. 3. What modalities exist for future investors who may wish to own part of the fiber maybe 2 or 5years after the cable is operational- or will this thing be a closed-club to the original financiers once the cable becomes operational? (remember the consortium approach of EASSy?) 4. What are the steps involved in transparently transferring this public resource into private sector? just wondering... walu. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

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Re: [kictanet] TEAMs to switch into Private Hands
by Florence Etta 19 Mar '08

19 Mar '08

Sorry to be picking up on this one now. If I am repeating what someone has already said do forgive me and ignore this post but here goes. Good question Paul. And if this important information is not available how about commissioning a study on "bandwidth utilization by sector" or model something close to it from actual current use so as to project future trends? This could be something the ICT Board might want to pursue? Cheers, FE ----- Original Message ---- From: Paul Kukubo <pkukubo(a)ict.go.ke> To: feanywhere(a)yahoo.co.uk Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Monday, 17 March, 2008 10:46:09 AM Subject: Re: [kictanet] TEAMs to switch into Private Hands Kai Is there any public analysis or research on actual bandwidth utilization by sector? i.e.. Agriculture vs say Banking? And web browsing vs. Infrastructure facilitation. Who is using what bandwidth and for what? As we promote outsourcing and ICT industries, the conversation will shift from bandwidth availability to its exploitation by the common mwananchi The ICT board is spending time in many forums explaining this exciting opportunity to ICT business and entrepreuners as it unfolds. We must spread the message that business and entreprenuers must be ready when the cable lands. Regards Paul Kukubo ICT Board Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Celtel Kenya -----Original Message----- From: "Kai Wulff" <kai.wulff(a)kdn.co.ke> Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2008 10:09:27 To:[email protected] Cc:KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Subject: Re: [kictanet] TEAMs to switch into Private Hands Walu, like all other initiatives we have supported, KDN is seeing it as an enabler for the market and our approach is not profit driven (of course we want to recover the investment). There will be more than enough capacity on this cable as on Seacom, so fully redundant connectivity for the market will be the rule! Kai ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Walubengo" <jwalu(a)yahoo.com> To: <kai.wulff(a)kdn.co.ke> Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Monday, March 17, 2008 09:07 Subject: [kictanet] TEAMs to switch into Private Hands > The current issue of The EastAfrican claims that the > government submarine fiber project is to be transferred to > the initial co-financiers : Safaricom, KDN, Jamii, amongst > others. > > Will the eventual majority shareholders - essentially the > private sector - operate the cable on Open Access > principles? Specifically, the following questions arise. > > > 1. Will the cable be open for direct connectivity (at the > source in MSA) to other future telco players? > > 2. Will the price of connecting to the international fiber > be driven by profit-motives or will it be based on the > 'cost-of-operating-the-fiber' basis. > > 3. What modalities exist for future investors who may wish > to own part of the fiber maybe 2 or 5years after the cable > is operational- or will this thing be a closed-club to the > original financiers once the cable becomes operational? > (remember the consortium approach of EASSy?) > > 4. What are the steps involved in transparently > transferring this public resource into private sector? > > just wondering... > > walu. > > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ > Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. > http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: kai.wulff(a)kdn.co.ke > Unsubscribe or change your options at > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/kai.wulff%40kdn.co.ke > > -- > This message has been scanned for viruses and > dangerous content by MailScanner, and is > believed to be clean. > > -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: pkukubo(a)ict.go.ke Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/pkukubo%40ict.go.ke _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: feanywhere(a)yahoo.co.uk Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/feanywhere%40yahoo.co.… ___________________________________________________________ Rise to the challenge for Sport Relief with Yahoo! For Good http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/forgood/

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SME-Symposium set for this weekend
by Jose' 18 Mar '08

18 Mar '08

Greetings all, just a quick reminder to those who are planning to come to the entrepreneurship symposium set for this Saturday 22,March 2008. Venue: Kenya assemblies of God-Bahati Estate Time:from 0800hrs to 1700hrs. Charges:150ksh-(Drinks included) Kentel,I am counting on you!! I see representatives from Ugabytes, Telecentre.org,Google(Brian and Joe),ICT Board,Ministry of Youth and Ministry of Communication,CFSK the list is endless........ Come see how youth are being exposed to loan granters and business consultants. regards, Jose' 0728878744 --------------------------------- Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.

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Teams vs Flag (KDN?)
by Rebecca Wanjiku 18 Mar '08

18 Mar '08

Sometimes back, KDN was fronting for FLAG. Does it mean that KDN is no longer interested in FLAG? Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ ----- Original Message ---- From: John Walubengo <jwalu(a)yahoo.com> To: rebeccawanjiku(a)yahoo.com Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Monday, March 17, 2008 5:20:45 PM Subject: Re: [kictanet] Local Content vs Submarine Cable. --- robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote: >>>As I keep saying the solution is to concentrate on creating local content and keeping local traffic local, let the rest of the world beat a path to us and not the reverse. >>cut>> Yawe, I hear you. Infact 2years ago I was involved in some research that settled almost on your point of view http://www.diplomacy.edu/poolbin.asp?IDPool=127 But with the slight variation that we need BOTH the local content and the submarine cable. Its sort of a chicken and egg problem. Rather than expect one to precede the other, why not initiate both? walu. --- robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote: > Hi, > > Welcome to the beginning of the end, the cable is going > private and it will remain private exactly as happened in > West Africa. > > Can those of you who where changing your business plans > to reflect lower internet access instead increase the > cost of that component. > > As I keep saying the solution is to concentrate on > creating local content and keeping local traffic local, > let the rest of the world beat a path to us and not the > reverse. > > The article in the Nation last week about outsourcing > confirmed my fears our outsourcing model is a reverse > pyramid as opposed to the rest of the world. Our > outsourcing companies have 30% local provision and 70% > off shore yet the countries we are competing against have > the reverse. > > Time reveals all. > > Robert Yawe > KAY System Technologies Ltd > Phoenix House, 6th Floor > P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 > Kenya > > Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696 > > ----- Original Message ---- > From: "bitange(a)jambo.co.ke" <bitange(a)jambo.co.ke> > To: robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk > Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions > <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > Sent: Monday, 17 March, 2008 11:00:02 AM > Subject: [kictanet] TEAMs to switch into Private Hands > > Dear Walubengo, > > > Q: Will the eventual majority shareholders - essentially > the private > sector - operate the cable on Open Access principles? > Specifically, the > following questions arise. > > A: Competition alone will drive the cost low and if that > fails, Government > can intervene using the capacity it holds and if that > fails, the regulator > will have to intervene. > > Q: 1. Will the cable be open for direct connectivity (at > thesource in MSA) > to other future telco players? > > A: Yes indeed. See Q3 responses below. > > Q: 2. Will the price of connecting to the international > fiber be driven by > profit-motives or will it be based on the > 'cost-of-operating-the-fiber' > basis. > > A: Price of connecting to the International fibre remaims > cost of > operating the fibre but retail price will have an element > of profit. What > we shall guard agaist is exploitative prices. > > Q: 3. What modalities exist for future investors who may > wish to own part > of the fiber maybe 2 or 5years after the cable is > operational- or will > this thing be a closed-club to the original financiers > once the cable > becomes operational?(remember the consortium approach of > EASSy?) > > A: The Government of Kenya would continue to dilute its > shares in order to > ensure healthy competion exist. The model therefore is > not a closed shop. > > Q: 4. What are the steps involved in transparently > transferring this > public resource into private sector? > > A: You cannot force anyone to buy into Teams. There are > clear deadlines > by the financial arranger for making commitments. The > Standard Chatered > Bank were procured to make financial arrangements for the > cable. Although > sometimes Media misses the point here and there, it has > done a wonderful > job keeping us on our toes. > > Ndemo. > > > ---------------------------------------------- > This message has been scanned for viruses and > dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is > believed to be clean. > --------------------------------------------- > "easy access to the world" > > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk > Unsubscribe or change your options at > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/robertyawe%40yahoo.co.… > > > > > > > > > ___________________________________________________________ > > Rise to the challenge for Sport Relief with Yahoo! For > Good > > http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/forgood/> _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: jwalu(a)yahoo.com > Unsubscribe or change your options at > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: rebeccawanjiku(a)yahoo.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/rebeccawanjiku%40yahoo… ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

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The Googlization of Everything ... by Siva Vidyanathan]
by alice wanjira 17 Mar '08

17 Mar '08

How one company is disrupting culture, commerce and commerce ... and why we should worry! This blog, the result of a collaboration between myself and the Institute for the Future of the Book, is dedicated to exploring the process of writing a critical interpretation of the actions and intentions behind the cultural behemoth that is Google, Inc. The book will answer three key questions: What does the world look like through the lens of Google?; How is Google's ubiquity affecting the production and dissemination of knowledge?; and how has the corporation altered the rules and practices that govern other companies, institutions, and states? [more] * * * Hi. Welcome to my book. Hi. Welcome to my new book. Well, it's not a book yet. In fact, it will not be a real book for a long time. As you can tell from the title of this blog, the book will be about Google and all they ways that Google is shaking up the world. Google is a transformative and revolutionary company. I hesitate to use terms like that. We live in an era of hyperbole. So I try my best to discount claims of historical transformation or communicative revolutions. But in the case of Google, I am confident it is both. Now, I am approaching this book as both a fan and a critic. I am in awe of all that Google has done and all it hopes to do. I am also wary of its ambition and power. As I use this site to compose the manuscript (an archaic word that I love too much to discard) for the book The Googlization of Everything, I hope to do so with your help. This is the latest in a series of "open book" experiments hosted and guided by The Institute for the Future of the Book. The Institute has been supportive of my work for years -- long before I became affiliated with it as a fellow and certainly long before we thought up this project together. As with the other projects by Ken Wark and Mitch Stephens, this one will depend on reader criticism and feedback to work right. So this is an appeal for help. If you know something about Google, hip me to it. If you have an observation about how it works or how it affects our lives, write to me about it. On occasion, I will post an open question on this blog. Please help me answer it. I have never tried to write a book this way. Few have. Writing has been a lonely, selfish pursuit for me so far. I tend to wall myself off from the world (and my loved ones) for days at a time in fits and spurts when I get into a writing groove. I don't shave. I order pizza. I grumble. I ignore emails from my mother. I tend to comb through and revise every sentence five or six times (although I am not sure that actually shows up in the quality of my prose). Only when I am sure that I have not embarrassed myself (or when the editor calls to threaten me with a canceled contract – whichever comes first) do I show anyone what I have written. Now, this is not an uncommon process. Closed composition is the default among writers. We go to great lengths to develop trusted networks of readers and other writers with whom we can workshop – or as I prefer to call it because it's what the jazz musicians do, woodshed our work. Well, I am going to do my best to woodshed in public. As I compose bits and pieces of work, I will post them here. They might be very brief bits. They might never make it into the manuscript. But they will be up here for you to rip up or smooth over. That's the thing. For a number of years now I have made my bones in the intellectual world trumpeting the virtues of openness and the values of connectivity. I was an early proponent of applying "open source" models to scholarship, journalism, and lots of other things. And, more to the point: One of my key concerns with Google is that it is a black box. Something that means so much to us reveals so little of itself. So I would be a hypocrite if I wrote this book any other way. This book will not be a black box. Of course, it could get ugly in here. I could make tremendous mistakes. I could shoot something out there that shuts all doors at Google. I could undermine my ultimate market (but I seriously doubt that I could). I could just write myself into a corner. In my next post I will share a rough chapter outline. And I will give some sense of the basic questions and major issues that I hope to tackle in this work. Ok. As Sgt. Phil used to say, "Let's roll. And let's be careful out there." Send me links, questions and ideas: siva [at] googlizationofeverything [dot] com http://www.googlizationofeverything.com/2007/09/hi_welcome_to_my_book.php * * * Like the Mind of God (6 posts) All the World's Information (5 posts) What If Big Ads Don't Work (4 posts) Don't Be Evil (3 posts) Is Google a Library? (15 posts) Challenging Big Media (11 posts) The Dossier (3 posts) Global Google (1 post) Google Earth (no posts) A Public Utility? (7 posts) About this Book (7 post Siva Vaidhyanathan (how do you pronounce that?) Siva Vaidhyanathan I am a cultural historian and media scholar at the University of Virginia. I have written two previous books: Copyrights and Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property and How it Threatens Creativity (New York University Press, 2001) and The Anarchist in the Library: How the Clash between Freedom and Control is Hacking the Real World and Crashing the System (Basic Books, 2004). Most recently I edited (with Carolyn de la Pena) the collection, Rewiring the Nation: The Place of Technology in American Studies (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007). I've written for many periodicals, including American Scholar, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The New York Times Magazine, MSNBC.COM, Salon.com, openDemocracy.net, Columbia Journalism Review, and The Nation. I also blog at SIVACRACY.NET. After five years as a professional journalist, I earned a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. I've taught at Wesleyan University, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Columbia University, New York University, and is this fall began as an associate professor of Media Studies and Law at the University of Virginia. I'm also a fellow at the New York Institute for the Humanities and the Institute for the Future of the Book.

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[Fwd: Balancing Act: African Broadcast and Film Markets Report is out now]
by alice 17 Mar '08

17 Mar '08

Dear all Interesting report but for a whopping GBP500/US$1,000....making it out of reach for most. Affordable local content? And it is indeed encouraging that organizations like IDRC taking up the challenge to narrow the knowledge/information gap with initiatives like the BPO Research study. best alice African Broadcast and Film Markets Report's content <http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/927/235533/131/0/> Other reports <http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/927/235533/2/0/> Consultancy <http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/927/235533/58/0/> In a world of converging media, telcos and ISPs are increasingly having to pay attention to what their counterparts in the broadcast and film industry are doing. Africas first genuine triple play offers will be launched shortly and mobile operators and broadcasters are trialling mobile TV. Therefore the world of programme rights and production costs may be a mystery that you will need to know more about. Increasingly, SMS and the Internet are being used as media. To reverse Marshall McLuhans well known phrase: the message is now the medium. There were 4.5 million downloads from Africa of material from the second series of Big Brother. Increasingly, SMS and the Internet are becoming media and will compete for advertising with the broadcast industry: there are shifting patterns for advertising in different media. For anyone interested in how the broadcast and film industry has and will develop and its converge with the telecoms industry, there has been a frustrating lack of data up until now. Balancing Acts African Broadcast and Film Markets, published in association with Intermedia, is over 340 pages long and has 132 charts, 41 tables of statistical data and 12 graphic maps. It is probably the most detailed data source on both industry and audience information for the sector in Africa. The report includes: *Part 1 *provides an analysis of the developing industry (based on a survey of 40 countries) and has the following sections: African industry overview Slow but steady liberalisation: This looks at the state of liberalisation, for radio and TV; the international players in the market; the scale of broadcast advertising; and the battle for Pay-TV subscribers. The beginning of the end for Mr President TV looks at the difficult commercial position of public broadcasters and ways they might get out the trap they are in. Other areas covered include: The costs of local and international programming; Digitilisation and High Definition Slow progress but it is on its way; Africas film industry Low output but big changes afoot; Africa goes triple-play the early pioneers roll-out; The potential market size for Pay Television; Reaching African diaspora audiences competing for eyeballs away from home; and Mobile TV a technology for Africa? *Part 2* looks at Africas rapidly shifting landscape through audience research from 17 key markets: Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Each survey involves a large sample size, and is conducted through face-to-face interview, usually in the home of the respondent. The result is an unusually rich, single source for data on how Africans are interacting with traditional and emerging broadcasters and platforms, new technologies and modes of mass and inter-personal communication. It is sufficiently standardised to allow cross-comparison between countries and trend analysis across the timeframe data has been collected. For the first time, there is now data on SMS and Internet use that enables a sizing of the current market and the basic socio-demographic data to allow a serious examination of the potential future markets. For a full list of the contents: http://www.balancingact-africa.com/broadcast_markets.html <http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/927/235533/131/0/> The report is priced as follows: Full price (Africa) GBP500/US$1,000; Full price (Rest of the World) GBP750/US$1,500; Reduced price for universities and NGOs GBP375/US$700. Click below to order: http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profiles/order/order_form.php <http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/927/235533/226/0/> You may also want to order one of the following: African Telecoms and Internet Markets Part 1: West Africa African Voice and Data Bandwidth Forecasts (2006-2011) CLICK HERE TO ORDER <http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/927/235533/2/0/> M-Money - Finances, Banking and Payments through mobile phones African VoIP Markets * Contact one of our analysts <mailto:[email protected]> Graphic maps showing significant patterns at a glance The report contains essential socio-demographic data with clear metrics for defining levels of affordability. The graphic map above shows the percentage of people able to afford certain kinds of high-value consumer goods in each of the 17 countries covered. The report also includes comparisons of levels of people defined as middle class against levels of television and PC ownership. Tables with up-to-date key industry data The tables and boxes provide data on: satellite, IP-TV and cable subscribers; advertising spend in selected African countries as a percentage of GDP; Top 15 African countries by ad spend and radio and TV ownership; Government broadcasting sources of financing; advertising spend by TV channel in Kenya and Tanzania; outdoor mobile cinema attendance in Kenya, box office and audience attendance for 100 South African films; the DVD and Video market in South Africa by value; diaspora populations and subscriber levels to diaspora services; and countries offering 3G services. Charts illustrating listening viewing habits for leading TV and radio broadcasters The report includes audience data for all 17 countries on: daily audiences for leading TV and radio broadcasters; viewing and listening levels at different times of the day; trust in information provided by leading broadcaster, both radio and television; interest in different types of programming (news, sports, fashion, etc); newspaper readership; media equipment ownership (radio, TV, satellite, PC and mobile); and media equipment used yesterday. All data is cross-comparable across countries and the report contains a pan-African summary and individual sub-regional summaries for East, North, South and West Africa. Use of convergence media (SMS, Mobile TV, IP-TV and Internet) For the first time, the report provides detailed use figures for converged media, both in terms of equipment ownership and use yesterday. Although Internet figures remain low in some countries, a critical mass of users clearly exists in other countries. It tracks the percentage of respondents who use SMS as a source of information and the figures are consistently higher than might be expected. Key statistics overview Each of the 17 audience country profiles has a detailed summary panel providing: socio-demographics; media ownership and daily use; top radio and TV channel by listening or viewing daily and daily Internet use; regulatory bodies; and the approximate number of domestic TV and radio channels.

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Re: [kictanet] TEAMs to switch into Private Hands
by robert yawe 17 Mar '08

17 Mar '08

Hi, Welcome to the beginning of the end, the cable is going private and it will remain private exactly as happened in West Africa. Can those of you who where changing your business plans to reflect lower internet access instead increase the cost of that component. As I keep saying the solution is to concentrate on creating local content and keeping local traffic local, let the rest of the world beat a path to us and not the reverse. The article in the Nation last week about outsourcing confirmed my fears our outsourcing model is a reverse pyramid as opposed to the rest of the world. Our outsourcing companies have 30% local provision and 70% off shore yet the countries we are competing against have the reverse. Time reveals all. Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696 ----- Original Message ---- From: "bitange(a)jambo.co.ke" <bitange(a)jambo.co.ke> To: robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Monday, 17 March, 2008 11:00:02 AM Subject: [kictanet] TEAMs to switch into Private Hands Dear Walubengo, Q: Will the eventual majority shareholders - essentially the private sector - operate the cable on Open Access principles? Specifically, the following questions arise. A: Competition alone will drive the cost low and if that fails, Government can intervene using the capacity it holds and if that fails, the regulator will have to intervene. Q: 1. Will the cable be open for direct connectivity (at thesource in MSA) to other future telco players? A: Yes indeed. See Q3 responses below. Q: 2. Will the price of connecting to the international fiber be driven by profit-motives or will it be based on the 'cost-of-operating-the-fiber' basis. A: Price of connecting to the International fibre remaims cost of operating the fibre but retail price will have an element of profit. What we shall guard agaist is exploitative prices. Q: 3. What modalities exist for future investors who may wish to own part of the fiber maybe 2 or 5years after the cable is operational- or will this thing be a closed-club to the original financiers once the cable becomes operational?(remember the consortium approach of EASSy?) A: The Government of Kenya would continue to dilute its shares in order to ensure healthy competion exist. The model therefore is not a closed shop. Q: 4. What are the steps involved in transparently transferring this public resource into private sector? A: You cannot force anyone to buy into Teams. There are clear deadlines by the financial arranger for making commitments. The Standard Chatered Bank were procured to make financial arrangements for the cable. Although sometimes Media misses the point here and there, it has done a wonderful job keeping us on our toes. Ndemo. ---------------------------------------------- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. --------------------------------------------- "easy access to the world" _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/robertyawe%40yahoo.co.… ___________________________________________________________ Rise to the challenge for Sport Relief with Yahoo! For Good http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/forgood/

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